30 New Zealand Woman’s Weekly
B
ody painting is my happy
place – there is nothing
more I’d rather be doing.
It ticks so many creative boxes
for me. But I didn’t discover
it until my early forties and
I certainly was never aware of
body art while growing up in
Oxford, England.
The first people I ever paintedAUCKLAND CREATIVE
JANE ELLIS (54) IS AN
AWARD-WINNING BODY
ARTIST AND DIRECTOR
OF HER COMPANY,
RAINBOW RASCALSHow
I live...
were my eldest son Tom and
his mate, who were teenagers
at the time and heading off
to watch a rugby game. They
wanted me to paint rugby shirts
on them, which I did, and Tom
rang me to say they were
getting a lot of attention.
I was always known as the
‘arty mum’ who used to paintsets for school productions,
or sell homemade beanies at
market stalls. I wanted my own
business, so began with face
painting, and body art became
an extension of that.
It’s just amazing using the
body as a canvas: it’s three
dimensional, it has contours,
it breathes and it talks to youwhile you’re painting it! Your
model plays a huge part in
bringing your artwork to life and
I often use dancers because
they’re confident with their
body and know how to move.
A lot of my body-painting
works are created at public
events, so I’m always mindful
that I want to promote this“PHOTOS: ROBERT TRATHEN- HAIR & MAKE-UP: CLAUDIA RODRIGUES
THEY’RE YOUR STORIES
weeklyPEOPLE
DOWN TO
A FINE ART
Why people
are my canvas